Near me always
by BasementKat
Summary: Ever is content in her life at Wammy's with Matt and Mello. Then arrives a strange albino boy who is forced to do a school project with her. Will the two connect or will Ever give up on the quiet boy? When Mello get in the way of their growing friendship Ever must decide just how much her friendship with Near is worth.
1. Urrgggg Mornings!

_Bring! Bring! Bring!_

I groaned and flipped onto my stomach, burrowing my head under my pillow. That didn't help stop the obnoxious alarm clock from ringing though, so I resorted to actually sitting up and shoving it off of my dresser.

Nope, Mello knew how badly I hated mornings and had bought me an almost indestructible alarm clock, so I wouldn't be able to break it. Sighing, I rolled off my bed, unstably getting to my feet. I grabbed the loathsome machine and resisted the urge to chuck it at the wall in a rage of hate. It wouldn't do any good so I switched it off and set it back on my dresser, annoyed at the fact that I would have to repeat this process the next morning, because unfortunately this was only the first day of school and not, like, the 180th.

Sluggishly I glanced down at my clothing. One oversized band t-shirt over a pair of black leggings. Last night I had fallen asleep in my clothing while trying to beat my older brother Matt at one of his favorite racing games.

He, of course, had won. Challenging Matt at any sort of electronic game would only ensure your failure. He had probably brought me back to my room at some remote hours of the night; most likely around three or four, meaning I only had around three hours of sleep. Great thinking on my part. Oh well.

My gaze swept around the room looking for my hairbrush. There was no point in changing my clothes, but the least I could do was try to tame my curly mass of auburn curls. Yanking the brush through the knots I quickly brushed my teeth and made my way down the hall to Matt's room.

"Matty, Mels, get up!" I hollered. Approximately ten seconds later I rapped on the door, "If you don't answer I'm coming in!"

I waited, _three, two, one! _Just then the door flung open, showing a very disheveled and furious looking Mello.

"What the hell, Ever?!" Matt's blonde haired roommate, and our best friend, spat.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "It is morning." I pronounced every syllable slowly. "We have breakfast at ten." For a genius it sure took him a long time to compute.

"Oh."

"Yeah, get Matty up will you? I'll be in the cafeteria."

He nodded and grabbed the brush that I still had in my hands.

"Imma use this."

He then slammed the door in my face. Oh well, that was what I got for waking up Mello. Hopefully they wouldn't be late for the ceremony we had before classes started. I started the long walk down from the dorms to the main campus. Perhaps I should explain here, Mello, Matt, and I are orphans living at an orphanage for genius's called Wammy's house. Matty and I came here when we were four, and met Mello, and we've been friends ever since. Today classes resumed from our summer break which had lasted a month. One whole glorious month of fun, video games, and sleep. Lots of sleep, something I was desperately lacking right now.

I found the busy cafeteria and shoved my way to the front of the line and decided to grab a tray for Matt and Mello too. Aren't I such a nice person? Well they probably wouldn't have time to eat otherwise and then I'd be hearing them complain until lunch about how hungry they were. I really didn't need to deal with that.

My next task was to find someplace to sit. I glanced over the full tables cursing the vast numbers of kids who resided here.

"Ever!" I heard my name being called, and my gaze found Linda who was desperately trying to get my attention.

"Oh, hey!" I said setting down the three full trays onto the table. "Thanks for saving the seats."

My best, and really only, girl friend Linda pushed some of her brown hair out of her face.

"No prob." She responded. "Look at some stuff I did."

Linda was an artist, and a very good one at that. She spread her artwork all over the table. I gasped, it was us! The Wammy kids I mean.

"This is amazing…" I sighed picking up a drawing. It was of Mello, Matt and I. Matt was on his portable like usual, but Mello and I apparently were in the middle of a full out argument. I was stomping on his foot, and his chocolate was all mushed in my hair. I giggled remembering that moment.

"It looks so real…"

Linda blushed at my praise and mumbled thanks under her breath. The other pics showed all of the other kids, either together or alone.

"You gotta get these into a gallery or something."

I helped her gather up the photos and put them back into a large portfolio she was carrying. I was jealous, I couldn't draw for squat. My talents lay elsewhere.

Coincidently, Linda asked me how my book was going.

"Fine." I replied. Would it be bragging if I said my writing was just as good as Linda's artwork? It was true; I was at Wammy's for my ability to write realistically.

"I've almost finished the majority of the middle, only the ending to go."

"That's great!" Linda exclaimed. "Can I read it then?"

I grinned, and said, "Perhaps."

A long time ago Linda had asked if she could read it, but I had told her only when I was finished. Till then it would remain a secret. I haven't even told her the plot. She was about to argue when Mello plopped down and glared at me. Matt followed, not lifting his gaze from his game.

"Pssst Mels!" I said poking Mello. "Why ya so grumpy."

"I DON'T FUCKING HAVE ANY CHOCOLATE LEFT." He shouted, and then collapsed at the table.

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed. "Someone call 911! Mello's out of chocolate!" I giggled hysterically earning many skeptical glances from the other kids.

"Shut up!" He groaned, head in his hands. "It's fucking early, and if I don't have my damn chocolate it will be a very bad day for all of you."

"Hmm…" I contemplated. My choices were, either, watch Mello suffer (which was hilarious) and have him be all grumpy and short tempered all day, or give him chocolate and shut him up.

"Fine." I gave in and gave him a bar from my MNC (Mello Needs Chocolate) stash.

"Thanks." He muttered, unwrapping it. I rolled my eyes and checked my phone.

"We're gonna be late for the opening ceremony you guys." I said, dumping the leftover food into the trash."

They followed me to the auditorium where our caretaker Rodger was going to make a speech, then we were going to get our class list (which was the same every year) and then school would officially start. But for the next twenty minutes I was going to be very bored.

Rodger came on to the stage and smiled. "Before we start I'd like to welcome someone new to Wammy's." He said.

Wait what?

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Thanks for reading, next chapter will be up soon. Drop a review?


	2. Mr Albino boy

"This is Near." He explained as a small white haired boy made his appearance on stage. "He will be joining Wammy's today. Please be nice to him."

The boy stared out at us with cold calculating eyes. I shuddered. Something was not right with this strange albino kid.

Matt who had just switched off his game muttered, "What's with the sheep."

"New kid." I mumbled, internally giggling at Matt's nickname. The kid really did look like a sheep. He had white fluffy hair and white pajama looking clothes. Another weirdo at Wammy's. Really I think everyone here was a little strange, but something really bothered me about Near. And then his gaze locked with mine.

I froze, staring back. Then he left the stage, and Rodger continued his welcoming speech. For the most part I was zoned out, thinking about Near. Why was he here? What was his talent? When did he get here? I wasn't going to ask the kid himself though so I needed to find a different way to find the answers. Matt could hack into Rodger's computer for the information and Mello and I could go snoop around his office for Near's file. I was lifted out of my thoughts when I heard Mello exclaim "What?!"

The auditorium broke into noisy chatter.

"Mello what happened?"

"Old pricks splitting up the classes by age!" He seethed.

"Seriously? He's always let us pick what we want to take!" This was not good. Both Mello and Matt were two years older than me, which meant that I wouldn't have either of them with me. I needed them in class, how else was I supposed to understand the hard questions?

I groaned and rested my head on my knees. Linda patted my hand in reassurance. We were both thirteen, but our average intelligence was about the same, meaning she wouldn't be much help to me when I needed it.

Approximately ten minutes later I was sitting at a desk with Linda next to me.

"This sucks…" I muttered. Really, if I didn't have Mello to entertain me I think I would die. There was no way I was going to make it through this year. But at this moment there were more pressing matters. Namely, the teacher, Ms. Kucinski, was pairing us up. For a partner project. I HATED partner projects, they were annoying, and the other person never got anything right. Second, I didn't know anyone in this class besides Linda. And the chances of us being together were, like, 4%.

Linda was paired with a girl named Rae. That's when I zoned out.

"Ever, Ever!"

"Huh?" I groaned.

Linda was silently laughing as I wiped drool from my mouth. I had fallen asleep, in less than ten seconds. A new record.

"Yeah, whatsup?" I asked casually asked the teacher. To her credit, the overly fake smile plastered on her face didn't waver.

"Ever, sweetie, I said you are going to be paired with Near okay?"

My eyes widened. "Wait why?" Near was in this class?

"What do you mean why?" Ms. Kucinski asked confused.

"Why with Near?"

"He's going to be your partner, didn't you hear me?"

I didn't mention the fact that I had been asleep, but turned to the albino boy instead. Again, he was staring at me, emotionless.

"Fine…" I sighed.

"It's just for a week." Linda comforted me, knowing that I didn't enjoy partner projects.

"That's one week to long." I muttered.

Linda shot me a sympathetic smile as she headed over to the blonde haired girl named Rae. I glanced at Near who showed no signs of moving over to me. Fine, I grabbed my stuff and hauled it over to his desk at the back of the room.

"Hi." I tried.

"…"

"I'm Ever."

"…"

"This would be the part where you say, Hi I'm Near." I sighed.

"…"

"Alrighty then." I waited as the young teacher explained the project. We were to get to know the other person and then introduce them to the class using whatever method we preferred, like a picture, writing, etc. Well wouldn't this be fun!

I was passed a packet of paper, showing some sample questions that you could use to ask your partner. Well, that would be all fine and dandy if Near would actually talk. Maybe he was a mute. My hand shot into the air, ready to tell Ms. Kucinski that I couldn't possibly work with Near because he was mute, when the boy mumbled something.

"What was that?" I asked, just a little bit disappointed that he wasn't mute.

"I'm Near…"

I grinned and pumped my fist into the air. "Yes! Progress!" I hooted, causing much of the class, including Ms. Kucinski, to turn and stare at us.

I ignored them, and turned back to the albino. He was staring at me, calculating, with his dark eyes. I looked away. The first question on the packet was Name. So I put Near, and wrote his age next to it (he was in my class so he must be thirteen). The next two questions were hair and eye color, so I answered White and Gray. What a contrast. The next question was a bit trickier, "Favorite thing to do?" I asked.

A few seconds past and he mumbled "Puzzles…"

"Oh really, cool, I like to write." I said giving him my answer.

"Erm, least favorite?"

"Socializing…"

"Me too actually."

We went back and forth, me asking the questions, until I learned basically all I needed to know to make my project. When the class ended I gathered up my stuff and left the room muttering to myself,

"What a strange kid."

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I'm not real happy with this chapter and I feel it was more of a filler. But I want to keep Near in character and It will take him a while to warm up to Ever, hey at least he talked! Haha, anyways thanks for taking the time to read this, maybe leave a review?


	3. Game of Chase

I was stuck. My legs were drawn up into my chest and my pencil tap, tap, tapped against the pad of paper. Usually I could write about anything, but now when I had to describe Near it wasn't working. The emotion I had gotten from Near was flat, emotionless. And that was what I needed to write a good paper; emotion and feeling. It seemed that I would have to get to know Near better. I didn't really want to, he scared me, but I did want a good grade on this project, so it was time for operation BDNW or Break Down Near's Walls. And for that I needed him to trust me.

It took me around two hours to locate the kid. Seriously he had seemed to vanish out of thin air, I checked the library, classrooms, his room (which he had told me the number for), outer grounds, cafeteria, and kitchens when I finally found him in the playroom. Really?

"Near!" I called, waiting to see if the boy would respond. When he didn't I walked over to him and plopped on the wooden ground.

"Yo." I said, peeking under my bangs to see what he was doing.

"Hello Ever." He sighed fitting the last blank piece into his white puzzle. At first glance the puzzle looked hard, very hard. But upon further inspection I could see that the same shape repeated itself every fifth time making it so that if you knew the secret the puzzle wasn't at all difficult. I told Near that.

"I am aware of that fact." He responded and moved on to a pile of dice stacked up against the back wall of the playroom. I watched him build a mini castle out of the stuff before he paused and addressed me.

"Do you need something from me Ever?" It was a fair question considering I had been obsessively staring at him for the past half an hour.

"Uh, not really only I was wondering if you would like to do something with me sometime?" I winced, that just sounded like I was asking him out! Quickly I stuttered, "I meant like friends! I'm not asking you out on like a date or something…" I blushed, "I just need to get to know you better for you know the project." I finished lamely, risking a peek into Near's eyes.

I was expecting him to get mad or angry but I guess that wasn't Near's style and he nodded and turned back to his tower o' dice. "That would be alright with me."

I sighed, the built up tension leaving my shoulders. Even though his back was to me I smiled and said thanks. Leaving the room I muttered to myself, "I'm so glad that's over with!"

"What's over with?"

I jumped and whirled around slamming my fist into Matt's face. His body crashed into the wall and his PSP went flying. "Oops!" I squeaked out, trying to keep myself from laughing at Matt's groans of agony.

"Not cool man…" He muttered picking himself up off the floor. From around the corner I could hear a certain somebody snickering.

"Nice one Ev." Mello grinned appearing. He stooped down and grabbed Matt's PSP. "Here catch!" He called and lobbed the thing at me. I caught it and stuffed it down the front of my shirt. Matt groaned again and said, "Don't think I won't go after it Ever."

I bit down on my grin and took off so that I was behind Mello. "Nuh-uh, no way, that's assault."

Matt pulled his goggles down in front of his bright blue eyes; he was now serious. "I'm your brother, it doesn't count."

I pondered that, "No I think it does." I nodded, "Yea, Mels what do you think?"

Mello smirked and I froze. "It doesn't." He whispered and lunged at me. Shrieking I flew down the hallways, both boys on my tail. Frantically I looked around for a fellow ally. Spotting my best chance I charged the poor sheep.

"NEAR HELP ME!"

I slammed into the boy effectively knocking us both to the ground. Mello was about to leap on top of us and I grabbed Near's hand and jerked us upright in a shaky run. Near kept up with me without problem as we raced for his room. I didn't think either Mello or Matt knew where it was so it would be my best bet.

I pulled Near in after me and locked the door much to the fury of the boys. I slid to the ground panting as Near eyed me skeptically.

"May I ask what that was about?"

Unable to respond I pulled Matt's PSP out of my shirt, thankful it didn't fall out. "This." I huffed, placing my hand over my heart.

"I don't think I understand."

I grinned, "I wouldn't expect you to."

I sat in Near's room which was plain white for about an hour waiting for the boys to leave. They did after banging around on the door for a while, which I didn't think anything of, except that they were trying to open it.

"Alright then, I should probably go." I said to Near who was tinkering around with some toy robots. "Thanks for helping me."

Near nodded and responded, "You're welcome Ever, though I still don't understand."

I stood to go, unlocking the door. Only there was a problem; the door didn't open. Only then did I understand Mello and Matt's banging around; they had locked both of us in. The door was jammed.


	4. Pocky?

**Yay chapter... is this 5? I really don't know lol, anywho thanks so much to Tessa H. and Gaaralover2247 for reviewing!**

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I sunk to my knees in horror.

Upon further inspection I learned that Near's room was located on the third floor of Wammy's so there was no hope of me jumping out the window. I mean hey, I'm flexible but not that flexible.

The second thing that I noticed was that it was late, Near didn't seem to have an alarm clock, but I knew that it must be later than 10:00 pm. That meant that curfew was in act and if I was caught outside of my room there would be severe punishments.

Rodger wasn't going to save me either.

So I was stuck here, for the night at least. And that led me to my third observation; Near only had one bed, and I was exhausted.

Oh and I was starving, the result of skipping dinner to write about the stupid sheep.

"Do you have any food?" I groaned from the floor.

"I do not." Near responded, backing up towards his bed like I was something contagious.

Urg, I reached into the bright green satchel that held my writing supplies, dug around, and pulled out a half full box of Pocky sticks.

I grinned and stuffed them into my mouth happily; I mean come on; who doesn't like Pocky, before remembering my manners and offering one to Near. He declined politely and shuffled on to his bed, never taking his pale gray eyes off of me.

"Well then…" I muttered tossing the empty box into Near's garbage can. "If I'm stuck here I might as well work on the dumb project." I wasn't expecting a reply and Near's monotone voice made me jump.

"Are you truly upset about the project Ever? You can ask to be reassigned to another partner, I will not be offended." Though he said it with no emotion or regret, it still made me feel bad somehow, and I sighed.

"Naw, I'm fine, just annoyed with life in general." I said and then as an afterthought, "It doesn't really have anything to do with you…"

Did he look almost relieved that I had declined his offer? I shook it off and flopped onto my back sinking into the shaggy white rug. It was pretty comfortable and with the knowledge that I was going to have to stay the night I sighed and sunk into a deep sleep, but not before I heard Near whisper _Good night Ever. _

_Good night Near…_

* * *

I woke up in a frenzy, heart pounding, and sweat sticking my hair to my forehead. My first coherent thought was _that was one hell of a dream! _The second being, _where the fork am I?! _

It took a second to convince me that Mello was NOT trying to kiss me, and remember that I was in Near's lovely white sanctum. I sat up noticing that the door was open and Near had mysteriously disappeared. Rolling onto my back and jumping up like a ninja that I was, I grabbed my satchel and exited the room taking a sec to inspect the door knob.

God, it was messed up, the boy's really went to town. The whole knob was missing, as well as a square part of the door around the missing knob. They hijacked the lock from the inside; making it so that only someone from the outside could open it. I wondered how Near had gotten out, but decided that either Mello had fixed it or Rodger had noticed my absence.

I made my way down the hallway, leaping down the stair and entered my room. With a quick glance at the clock showed me that it was past eight, meaning I was late for class. Just great, and on my second day too! Luckily my track record was pretty clean so I probably wouldn't get into too much trouble.

But geez the boy's WOULD pay for this. I threw on a clean pair of jeans and my Creature Feature hoodie and decided to leave my hair in the mess that it was; Mello still had my hairbrush. My stomach growled reminding me that I hadn't really eaten since lunch yesterday so I made my way down to the kitchen and grabbed some left over pancakes and bacon.

Upon entering the classroom all heads turned to stare at me. Bacon halfway to my mouth (I'd already downed the pancakes) I gave everyone a greeting nod, smiled at Ms. Kucinski and took my seat next to a bewildered looking Linda.

"Where were you last night?" She asked me eagerly, bright brown eyes worried.

"Oh you know, the M&M's locked me in Near's room for the night." Linda looked horrified, like someone had just asked her to kiss Matt (who I knew she had a crush on) and put her hands on my shoulders.

"What happened?" Her big eyes bore into mine, making me gulp and drop my sarcastic façade.

"Nothing, nothing! I went to sleep on the floor, while the sheep played with his robots." I put my hands up like a suspect trying to prove his innocence.

I was saved by the teacher who chose this gracious moment to tell us to shut up; in much nicer words of course. Linda looked down huffily and grabbed her stuff ready to move over to her partner Rae. Surprise, surprise I had missed the part of the teacher's speech where she had asked us to team up again.

"Hey Near." I sighed placing my satchel on his desk in the back. He didn't glance up but instead was committed to his domino…picture?

"What's that?" I asked.

"My project." He responded, shuffling back so I could get a better look.

"Near… that's amazing!"


	5. Creeper!

**Thanks to all of my reviews for ya know...reviewing, and to anyone who favorited/followed my story. I love you all! Now for chapter 5! (I think this is five?)**

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Ok, so I don't know how much of an artist Near was with a pen and paper, but I was starting to believe you didn't need those to create something beautiful. It was me, in tiny domino form, asleep. Wait… What!?

"NEAR!" I exploded, pink blush settling heavily on my pale cheeks.

His hands twitch slightly, the only reaction to my outburst. "Yes Ever, is something wrong?"

"The fuck there is!" I shouted using language that would do Mello proud. "You were watching me while I slept! Do you even know how _creepy _that is!?"

He sighed, flicking one strand of my dominized hair, causing the whole structure to come clambering down. If my outburst and use of colorful language didn't alert the teacher, the deafening crash of the dominoes as they clattered to the ground certainly did.

Ms. Kucinski put a worrying hand on my shoulder, her face a mixture of confusion and disappointment.

"Apparently not." Near muttered in reply to my previous question.

"Would you two like to go out in the hall to talk perhaps?" The teacher said threatening, with her ever fake smile.

"That would be just dandy!" I exclaimed sarcastically, flashing my own grin. Near followed me as I stomped into the hall, after assuring Linda that I was ok (not). I tried my best to keep glaring at the sheep, but it was obvious that my anger was wasted. He wasn't mocking me, he just didn't understand.

"Look Near," I said, "You can't watch people while they sleep. It's creepy."

"I apologize." He responded solemnly, looking me straight in the eye.

I sighed, last bit of anger washing away. "It's okay…" Then I paused. "Ya know, if you think about it, it's really all Mello and Matt's fault." I rubbed my hands together, mischievous glint re-entering my pale blue eyes. "Yep, I do believe it's time to devise a battle strategy."

* * *

"Well what do you know!?" I exclaimed shaking my head in surprise. "The sheep is good for something!" Near stared at skeptically, while I held up our perfect plan. Yes it had taken all of three hours to complete, yes I had gotten yelled at, yes I had skipped lunch, yes I still think Near has no idea what is going on, and hell yea were Matt and Mello going down!

"It's perfect…" I smiled dreamily. "Now all we have to do is carry it out." I beamed at Near who had helped me by pointing out all of my miscalculations, and helping me to finalize it. Hey, I was never much of a planner…

"Umm, hey Near, are you okay?" My brows furrowed in worry, as Near started shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"No, I suppose not…." He lifted his gaze to mine, when I finally figured it out. I wanted to mentally face palm. What had Near said was his least favorite thing to do? Yep, you guessed it; socializing. And a virtual cookie to who can figure out what we were doing. Hmmm, what did you say? Socalizing? DING DING DING! Right again.

"Hehheh, sorry…" I muttered, grimacing. "You can go if you want…" He glanced at me with his ever calculating gaze, and took off.

Sighing, I collected my things, brushed the hallway dust out of my clothes, and headed towards the kitchen for the second time that day.

* * *

"Hey Celia!" I called, greeting one of Wammy's personal chefs. The graying woman rolled her dark eyes and smiled fondly at me.

"Hello Ever. I see that you missed lunch, is there anything I can make you?" I grinned remembering why I loved this woman so much.

"Just the usual…" I said hopping up onto the counter, ignoring the pointed looks that I got from the chef.

"You're going to contaminate the food, you know that girl?"

I shrugged, good naturedly. "Most of the kids here would deserve contaminated food." I paused for a second thinking, "Including me…"

Celia winked, smile growing. "I couldn't agree more."

A couple minutes later I was seated at a back table in the kitchen, with a plate of cheesy pizza, and a bottle of cola.

"Ahhhhhh!" I sighed happily, downing the fizzy drink in one gulp. I dug into the pizza as Celia sat down across from me.

"So hon, anything bothering you? You look worried." I sighed, setting down my half-eaten pizza slice. The nice thing about Celia was that she wouldn't ask you a question if she wasn't genuinely interested, and she took the time to listen when you answered.

"Well, I don't want to bother you with daily teenage disputes…" Celia laughed the sound honking like a tuba. She gestured around herself with a flourish.

"I could use some excitement." She winked, "And somehow I think I'll be able to help you with your problems." I sighed and launched into a story that contained me, Mello, Matt, video games, partner projects, dominoes and Near.

"Sooo…" I finished, "Any advice?" Celia bit her bottom lip, a mischievous glint in her dark eyes.

"Are you sure you're not falling for him, Hon?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Near, you mean Near?" I gasped, stuttering over my words. Furiously shaking my head I tried to deny it. "No way Celia! Didn't you just hear me? I said he was a childish weirdo, NOT someone I find attractive."

I jutted out my bottom lip in an immature pout, and scowled. Celia just laughed. "Alright Hon, whatever you say." She paused, "You better get going though, your classes start soon don't they?"

I had completely forgotten about the time; 1:27. Classes started in three minutes! "Oh crap!" I exclaimed, jumping up out of my chair. I threw on my satchel, thanked Celia for the meal (not so much for the talk) and hightailed it out of there.

* * *

Groaning, I stood up and stretched, thankful that the day was finally over. Not that I had been to half of it… But oh well! Skipping I exited the class room eager to find M&M. I had a little something to say to each of them before I set my brilliant plan into action.

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**You know the drill Read and Review! Love ya!**


	6. WTH MELLO?

**Urg yes I know this is way late, plus it's short and makes no sense. I'M SORRY! Just hang with me I promise, It'll get better.**

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Groaning, I stood up and stretched, thankful that the day was finally over. Not that I had been to half of it… But oh well! Skipping I exited the class room eager to find M&M. I needed to make sure that they would be out of the way for at least a couple of hours so I could carry out my plan. Well… mine and Near's plan.

Unfortunately, I found them in their room (Lol, sounds wrong doesn't it?) where both boys were immersed in a new game of Matt's.

"Oh, hey Ever!" Mello grinned once he noticed me stalk in. "Didya have a nice night?"

"Best ever!" I grinned back, eyes narrowed. Inside I was groaning. When Matt found a new game it meant he wouldn't be moving until it was finished. Just my shitty luck. I sneaked a peak at the game. It seemed to be a Japanese RPG. I actually enjoyed those ones.

"Hey Matty, lemme play." I smiled sweetly flopping onto the couch, well, more onto Mello than the couch. Despite his protests, I grabbed the control out of his hands and stretched out. Mello grumbled and attempted to push me off him, but there was no way I was budging. No way in hell.

Two hours later I rubbed my eyes and paused the game. "I'm done guys." I announced, drawing myself up into a sitting position. My character had suffered enough deaths and frankly, my head was starting to hurt really badly.

Unlike Matt, I had no natural ability to stare at a screen for hours on end without burning myself out. Plus I still had to work on the project. It was due on Friday, so I only had a couple more days to finish.

I suppose it was time for me to go find Near. I still didn't think that I had enough basis on him to do the project well. While all the simple questions like favorite food, and favorite color had been answered, he still didn't answer the question my project was trying to portray; who was Near?

This time around I checked the playroom first. Sure enough he was in there, serene as ever. When I entered he made no move that showed that he knew I was here, but all the same I knew he knew. I took a seat on the floor, and then adjusted myself so that I was lying on my stomach, feet swinging through the air.

Being with Near gave me a sense of 'peacefulness' that being with Matt and Mello never did. The M&M's were fun, laughed at weakness, and always left me breathless and begging for our next adventure. Near wasn't like that. He was… content.

And I was too; content to just watch him. So I did. Eventually I found myself helping him, placing the next blank puzzle piece, and building up the dice tower.

"Do I bother you?" I asked finally, ending the silence.

"In what way?" He responded, grey eyes meeting mine.

"Being here with you…"

He seemed to struggle with the reply. "I suppose not." He paused, sighing. "Your company is… nice." His eyes were wide and forlorn. Was he lonely?

"That's good to hear." I bit my lip, "You know Near… anytime you want to, like, talk or something you can find me."

"Thank you." His voice was emotionless as usual, but it had a bit of a relieved quality to it. All of a sudden the door to the playroom barged open to reveal a seething Mello.

"You!" He fumed, storming over to Near. The towers we had built crashed down around him as he grabbed the white haired boy by the front of his shirt pulling him up into his face.

"How dare you!" Mello's hands shook in anger and veins threatened to pop out of his forehead.

"M-Mello!" I made a rushed grab for his hands but he shook me off. He then proceeded to strike Near on the cheek, snapping the albino boy's neck around as he crumpled to the ground. His wide grey eyes were confused and his shirt was torn, the first couple of buttons gone.

"Mello, what the FUCK?!" I threw myself on him and the both of us ended up as a tangle of limbs on the floor.

"Ask the sheep." The blonde spat out.

"N-near…? I asked shakily, terrified of the answer.

* * *

**Drama and PLOT DEVELOPMENT! YAY! I guess most of you can guess why Mello's upset. Virtual hug to anyone who tells me what they think in a REVIEW *Sparkly eyes* PWEASE?**


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